Nick Roads
Nicholas Roads (born 30 November 1990) is an American musician, record label executive, and music producer. He founded Banana Music Group in April 2011 and has produced music for Josh Kingston and Carly, both of which are signed under his record label. He was born in Albany, New York and relocated to New York City after completing high school. He continues to work as the President and CEO of his record label while studying music production at New York University. Life and career '1990–2008: Early life and beginnings' Roads was born in Albany, New York on 30 November 1990. From a young age, he showed an interest in music and by the age of twelve he could play piano and drums fluently. Upon entering high school, he began learning to play the guitar and he joined several music clubs and bands within his school community. At the age of 16, he began performing at small local musical venues, and in 2008 he enrolled at New York University in a musical production program. '2008–2012: University and launch of Banana Music Group' Upon his enrollment at New York University, Roads relocated from Albany to New York City. He began working at McDonald's while performing at small venues with friends when he had time to spare. During this time, he also began familiarizing himself with local record labels and researching the music business, and in April 2011 he launched his own independent web-based record label Banana Recordz with Emma Jenson, a colleague and friend from Athens, Georgia who attended New York University with Roads until late 2010 when she dropped out to pursue a business career in the music industry. The label was created with the target of allowing young unknown musicians to gain knowledge and experience of the music industry. For the first few months, the label had issues with self-promotion due to the label being not-for-profit. In June 2011, the label signed their first artist Carly and the following month they signed Josh Kingston. In early 2012, Jenson moved to Nashville, Tenneessee to find a job working for a country record label and as a result, she briefly left Banana Recordz, which by this time had formed a new subsidiary label called Indigo Records with the assistance of Kingston and had been re-named Banana Music Group. Upon Jenson's exit from the company, Roads hired friend and colleague Kathy Bolton to replace Jenson. In summer 2012, Jenson decided that her move to Nashville had been unrealistic and unaffordable and she subsequently returned to New York and re-joined Banana Music Group. Bolton was then given a reduced role in the company's management. After signing several artists in May and June 2012, many of the artists' contracts were terminated due to scheduling conflicts. Throughout the rest of the year, the record company focused on promoting the music of Kingston and Carly. '2013–present: Management changes' In February 2013, Roads elected not to renew Bolton's management contract with the label and she was let go the following month. Bolton furiously retaliated by destroying many of Roads belongings that she had borrowed, and as a result Roads and Bolton ended their long-time friendship. Following the incident, Roads decided that he would no longer hire friends as business partners and in June 2013 he told Jenson that her contract with the label would eventually be terminated because he wanted to "protect their friendship". Jenson eventually secured a job in Los Angeles and left Banana Music Group in February 2014. Kingston was selected as her replacement. Roads graduated from New York University with a master of arts degree in May 2014. Personal life Roads is good friends with former colleague and co-worker Emma Jenson, employee Josh Kingston, and television executive Matthew LaVernon. In a June 2014 interview with Music Radar ''magazine, Roads revealed that he is gay and has been in a stable relationship with a man since May 2009. Production discography *Jacob Holmes - ''On The Run^''' (2009; co-musical producer) *Violet Parker - ''Violet Parker^'' (2010; co-musical producer) *Carly - Please Don't Go (2011; executive and sole musical producer) *Josh Kingston - Symphony (2011; executive and sole musical producer) *Josh Kingston - In January (2012; executive and sole musical producer) *Josh Kingston - In January: Four Seasons (2012; executive and sole musical producer) *Josh Kingston - In January: The Complete Collection (2012; executive and co-musical producer) *Josh Kingston - Up in Flames (2013; co-musical producer) *Violet Parker - ''Roses Are Red^' (2013; co-musical producer) *Josh Kingston - Spectrum (2014; co-musical producer) ^ denotes albums not released by Banana Music Group